Hailing from Austin, Texas, Atomic Duo is Bad Livers co-founder Mark Rubin on guitar and fiery mandolin player Silas Lowe. Travellers in the truest sense of the word, they are a dynamic pair of present day Woody Guthries, rolling up their sleeves, digging in, and broadcasting the voices of those struggling at the bottom.

Rubin and Lowe have been keeping their eyes and ears open as they make their way through the back roads and forgotten corners of the United States. They’ve been talking to folks left out of the national conversation, exploring places where the American Dream is a broken promise, and gathering stories neglected by the newspapers and moneyed TV pundits. Their songs present a bold, witty and clear-eyed commentary, inspired by foreclosure evictions, harsh immigration laws, the absurdity of marijuana prohibition and the failed assumptions of trickle down economics.

Atomic Duo were official showcasing artists at Folk Alliance 2011, and have been featured performers at several notable festivals and venues, including the first Woody Guthrie Festival at Swallow Hill in Denver, Colorado, and the Blackpot Festival in Lafayette, Louisiana. Although deeply immersed in Americana and old time string band music, Rubin and Lowe also have an intrepid punk rock conviction onstage. Engaging grassroots performers, they come armed with two striking National Resophonic guitar company instruments, a hefty dose of sardonic humor, and quick-on-the-draw stage banter. These two unapologetic iconoclasts are making tracks across the country, speaking to the uneasy heart of 21st century America with an unblinking resolve that would make Guthrie mighty proud.

- Sarah Hagerman

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